2-25-2025
Clifford Hudson spent 35 years of his career at Sonic Corp., an Oklahoma City-based, then a publicly held company that owns, operates and franchises SONIC Drive-In restaurants. Most recently, he was Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of this public company with more than 3,500 franchised and company-operated drive-in restaurants. He left the company upon its sale in December 2018 and joined the law firm Crowe & Dunlevy as Of Counsel in the firm’s Oklahoma City office.
Hudson is the former Chair of the Board of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, where he served as a board member from 2001-2011. The National Trust owns and operates numerous historical sites across the continental U.S. and coordinates the process of historic preservation certification through state affiliates. Through its subsidiary NTCIC, it also invests in specific projects across the U.S. by purchasing certified historical tax credits and offering new market tax credits.
Hudson also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), a presidential appointment, from 1994-2001, and as Trustee of the Ford Foundation (New York) from 2006-2017. He served as Chairman of the Oklahoma City School Board from 2001-2008, a position created in 2000 as part of a $530 million MAPS for Kids initiative for the Oklahoma City Public School system. He currently serves as Chair of the Board of Union Theological Seminary of New York City, and President of the Board of Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre.
Hudson graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a B.A. in History, from which he also received in 2011 an honorary doctoral degree in humane letters. He holds a J.D. from Georgetown University, where he served as Chair of the Board of Visitors from 2013-2016. In 2014, Georgetown University awarded him the John Carroll Award, its highest alumni recognition.
In 2020, Harper Collins published Cliff’s first book entitled Master of None: How a Jack of All Trades Can Still Reach the Top. In addition, he has been the guest on numerous national television, radio and podcast programs, including his own podcast, “Master of None”.
Chair of the Day
Meg Salyer
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